We analyze the Cauchy problem for symmetric hyperbolic equations with a time singularity of Fuchsian type and establish a global existence theory along with decay estimates for evolutions towards the singular time under a small initial data assumption. We then apply this theory to semilinear wave equations near spatial infinity on Minkowski and Schwarzschild spacetimes, and to the relativistic Euler equations with Gowdy symmetry on Kasner spacetimes.Constants of this type will always be non-negative, non-decreasing, continuous functions of their arguments.Given four vector bundles V , W , Y and Z that sit over Σ, and mapsFor situations, where we want to bound f (t, w, v) by g(t, v) up to an undetermined constant of proportionality, we defineif there exists a R ∈ (0, R) and a map f ∈ C 0 [T 0 , 0), C ∞ (B R (W ) × B R (V ), L(Y, Z))such that